But those statistics actually relate to commercial air travel, ie, flying on the major carriers like United, American, Lufthansa, etc. These private aircraft are part of what is known as "general aviation" which, includes charters and private individuals, like Stephen Hatch. Data indicate that GA has 19 times the fatalities per hour traveled than driving.

That said, it is tragic what happened to these folks, and for Austin to go through this twice in his life must be near unbearable. I wish him a speedy recovery - physical, mental, and emotional.

Austin was involved in another plane crash eight years ago in which his mom and two sisters died. Got a text from our pastor this morning who knows them well that this had happened yesterday. Words fail. Austin is doing better, but is severly injured. His dad and step-mom were incredible people, and will be terribly missed. Please pray for Austin's sisters and brother moving forward, and obviously for Austin's recovery.

Has anyone seen any reports on his condition? I know he is in ICU, but that can mean so many things. I hope he can recover fully for his own sake so that he can live a normal life, at least physically.

I pray he gets through this, and that his remaining family and friends are there for him as he will need them more than ever. This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard. Makes you appreciate what small time on earth we all have.

Please show mercy on this poor child. Wrap you arms around him and protect him from pain, both physical and emotional. Give those working with him the wisdom and skill to do everything they can for him. Bless those around him with loving hearts and open arms, that they might be able to give him that which his family no longer can. Watch over him and comfort him. Lead him with purpose through this incomprehensible path laid out before him. Thy will be done.

I almost couldn't believe the story when I read it -- this poor kid has endured (and survived) two plane crashes -- and lost just about every single member of his family throughout the course of both. The word "tragedy" doesn't even begin to describe that. My prayers go out to the extended family, and to Austin, who I am praying for to make a complete recovery and somehow be able to piece his life together again.

Get in a plane again after the first accident and losing your family members. To have it happen again is like having lightning hit you twice. Horrible. Wishes that he gets through this physically, and then manages to find a way to deal with this emotionally. It's an unimaginable road. Forget basketball...life is what matters.

I cannot believe he has had two plane crashes where family members were killed in his short life. The odds of this happening have to be a billion to one. Poor kid. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

As so many have already said, there are no words that can describe the pain I feel for Austin and his whole family right now. When I heard about the first plane crash a couple of weeks ago, it was one of the hardest stories to ever read. Now when I hear this there is nothing that even comes close to the magnitude of the tragedy. All my thoughts and prayers are with Austin and his family. And hopefully not only Michigan fans are praying for him right now, it truly does not matter what school he goes to or what school he is committed to.

More important than his physical recovery I hope he can mentally and emotionally get over this. I'm sure this kid loves the game and would do anything to play again, but first I just hope he can find some stability after losing so many people close to him.

I pray that he makes a full and speedy recovery. Does anyone know the extent of his wounds? I can only imagine if he does recover and is able to take the court one day to play for Michigan. That is one game I would not want to miss, his first time in front of the Crisler fans. What a moment for him it would be, all the best to this young Michigan Man. !! God Speed !

Obviously we don't have a lot to go on here, but I talked to my mom, who is a nurse, to ask her about what she thought about a possible recovery given what we do know (cracked skull, two punctured lungs, no brain bleeding, medically-induced coma). She said that healthy people can usually fully recover from a punctured lung in about six weeks and that he should hopefully be able to make a full recovery if there is no brain damage. Like I said, no one but his doctors know the full extent of his injuries, but at this point I think we should really be praying that his brain is fully functioning.

Austin, you and your family are in my thoughts and prayers, as well as those of so many of us in your new extended family. We are all with you, and one day you will follow in your father's footsteps in medical school. Hang in there in these darkest of times.

"We are saddened to hear about another tragedy that has affected the Hatch family. Austin needs as much support right now as possible and I know he will be in the thoughts and prayers of the Michigan family during this difficult time."

One can ohly hope and pray that he recovers physically and psychologically. The prior accident must have had an impact due to the loss of family life, but then for this to occur so shortly after realizing a dream of attaining a scholarship to UM.

Our prayers are with Austin Hatch. I hope that there is an extended family to support him through the dark days that are sure to follow. Let's also hope that he recovers sufficiently to play out the dream and return to playing a sport that he clearly loves.

I dont even care if hes a michigan basketball player or not, the tradgey he has just faced and the condition he is in right now eliminates all of that. I hope for a safe recovery both mentally and physically for him.

The young man will be in my thoughts. I'm sure the Michigan family will rally around him. Somebody please let us know if we can send cards or something like that (assuming that's not an NCAA violation).

Thoughts and prayers go out to him and the rest of his family. Hoping the young man can make it through this tough time now and in the future. I haven't looked too deep into the story, but I'm hoping our Mich family has made there way out there for support in a time when any shoulder is a well needed shoulder to lean on. I too lost my parents at a young age and know what he'll be going through. I'll be rooting for him, not only for the Michigan connection, but as anyone who has a soul, you're heart goes out to people faced with this type of adversity. Praying...

There's no doubt that Beilein will honor the scholarship regardless of the playing situation (see: Cronin). Austin is our family as of a week ago and he may need us now more than ever. I greatly look forward to his first time in Crisler Arena.

This is incredibly sad. It's as bad or worse than the Mealer situation, really. Hope he makes it through and can live a normal life, and maybe play. I hope he can learn to deal with the loss of family, which will be the most difficult part of it. I expect he will receive a standing O from the Crisler crowd (maybe the Michigan Stadium crowd, if he can make it to school. I know I'll be standing.

“I got off the phone with a good friend of ours, Dr. Bob VanHorn, and he and his wife Renee were at the hospital today. Bob said that they had induced coma and he's currently resting comfortably. He does have some broken bones. From what Bob told me, he's got some broken ribs and clavicle. He did fracture his leg, but he said that there's nothing that needs to be done as far as casting or pins, that type of thing. Both of his lungs are punctured from what I understand, but they've got that under control. The most important thing right now that they're monitoring is that he has a fractured skull and he has some swelling on the brain.”

Leonard went on to say that VanHorn believes the doctors in Michigan have control over Austin’s situation. He also said that neurological tests will be done over the next few days.

who worked in a hospital with people with head injuries, the fracture of the skull can be a good thing when you've got brain swelling. It can give the swollen brain extra room and prevent brain damage.

Austin will have a long road back, but he will have the Lord's arms, and those of the Michigan Family, wrapped around him.

I checked the FAA N-number registration site (the Det News website has a picture of the empennage of the aircraft at the accident scene). The aircraft was a Beech A36 "Bonanza". The aircraft type has a reasonably good safety record, although previous variants of the Bonanza (particularly the infamous "V-tail") were much more checkered. The Bonanza requires an experienced pilot to safety operate, (due to a narrow weight and balance envelope) but Austin's dad had apparently been flying for many years.

As a private pilot myself, I will be interested to learn what caused this accident, and what might be learned from it. For me, these accidents and tragedies are always reminders that "there, but for the grace of God, go I."

Quiet period is a time when the college may not have any in-person talk with the prospective student-athlete or the parents off the college’s campus. The coach may not watch the prospect play or practice.The prospective student-athlete can visit college campuses during this time and a coach may write or telephone.

This poor kid has no immediate family left now. I hope the brain swelling doesn't have any permanent effects and that we still give him a scholarship so he can get his degree at UM even if he can't play basketball.

Prayers to the Hatch family and especially Austin for a recovery, basketball completely aside. I can't imagine having to deal with that amount of loss and I truly hope to see the guy in a Michigan uniform still someday or at least at U-M.

Unfortunately, the comments on the ESPN article were far less tasteful towards this situation and it makes me sad that people can't put their appalling thoughts aside during a situation like this.

From the EMS providers, sometimes it gets overlooked. Austin was taken from charlevoix to traverse city which is about 50 miles, im just starting in the firefighter/paramedic field and ive seen patients airlifted before. It takes time to get the patient to the trauma center and in this field 10 minutes can be the difference between life and death. The great thing is that the swelling on the brain is minor and that's the most important thing to worry about right now, if the doctors can continue to keep it down im positive that he will pull thru.

Wishing Austin a speedy recovery from the physical injuries and wishing him all the best in moving forward! I do hope he is still able to make to Michigan even if it's just for the educations. Very sad to hear about both sets of losses due to plane crashes.

Go luck Austin and wish you all the best! Stay strong! Will keep you and your family in my prayers!!!

This happened 5 five blocks away from my house. It was a crappy night with wind and rain. The runway to the airport was literally on the other side of the road maybe 100 yds away. Prayers to for Austin.

Thought it was interesting that that article and others say that the Hatch family was headed to Walloon Lake, where the father "and his brothers all owned property." As many here know, Camp Michigania is located on Walloon Lake.

I wonder if he knows what happened to his family. I hope that he has friends/remaining family with him if they have to tell him. I can't imagine having to hear that news after coming out of a coma. Or hear it at all for that matter.

The magnitude of this stuff is hard to fathom. Can't say enough how much we're all thinking about Austin on campus.

Anyone know how much contact our coaching staff is allowed to have with Austin at this point in the recruiting process? Knowing what kind of men they are we all know they're gonna want to be there for him for what ever he needs.

New AP article has some more details on Austin Hatch's injuries and treatment, based on information from his father's business partner, Dr. G. David Bojrab:

Austin Hatch suffered brain bruising and swelling and deep facial cuts in Friday's crash that killed his father, Stephen Hatch, and stepmother, Kim, but has shown some hopeful signs at a northern Michigan hospital, said Dr. G. David Bojrab.

. . .

Bojrab said Austin's brain swelling was going down and he had been moving all four limbs when doctors reduce [reduced?] the coma-inducing drugs they placed him on after Friday's crash. But Bojrab said it's unclear how soon doctors plan to take Austin off those drugs.

"They're waiting for the brain swelling to go down," he said. "He has bruising to the brain but there's no structural damage as far as they can tell right now, so they're hoping that that's a good sign and he'll have a better recovery or a full recovery."